Neighborhood divided over plans for Pentecostal church

The Planning and Zoning Commission has an Aug. 13 meeting and public hearing scheduled regarding the plans for a church on Christopher Court. Photo by Mary Rudzis.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has an Aug. 13 meeting and public hearing scheduled regarding the plans for a church on Christopher Court. Photo by Mary Rudzis.

Mary Rudzis, ReminderNews InternReminder News

The Pentecostals of Greater Hartford applied for a special permit to build a 14,000-square-foot church, along with a parking lot with 337 spaces, in the residential cul de sac neighborhood of Christopher Court. Some residents have started circulating a petition to try to block the building of the church at 57 Christopher Court, which is currently occupied by 19 acres of woods.

The East Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission had scheduled a vote on the application at the end of June; however, residents said that the sign advertising the hearing was not clearly visible. They claimed it was posted on a tree trunk and obscured by branches.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has now scheduled an Aug. 13 meeting and public hearing that Christopher Court residents plan to attend. According to the meeting agenda, the commission is scheduled to vote on the application and determine whether or not the church will be built there.

"We're fighting this because it's going to completely change the neighborhood," said Diane Bailey, a resident of Christopher Court since 1997. "There are a lot of younger kids. I have a special needs child." She, like many neighbors, purchased the home partly because of the lack of traffic on the street. Bailey's daughter and a friend have so far collected 30 signatures on a petition opposing the plans to build the church.

Residents also say there are 6.65 acres of conservation easements on the proposed building site, including wetlands. However, town officials claim that the church and parking lot would not disturb this protected zone.

"It's not the church. It's the traffic. We have nothing against the church," said Celine Goorahoo, another resident who has lived on Christopher Court since 1997. "We will never be able to get out of our driveway. And when they disturb that land, [they disturb] a lot of creatures." Some residents closer to the woods are concerned that animals will relocate to their backyards.

Nancy Smith, 80, said that she is worried that disturbing the wetlands will cause more flooding in her basement. Smith and Annrita Williams, 89, are the original owners of their homes and moved to the neighborhood 57 years ago. The two say a developer had tried building homes on the wooded land many years ago, but neighbors got together, hired a lawyer, and were able to stop the project. Many neighbors have agreed to work together to pay for a lawyer to attempt to stop the development of the church.

Kimberley Shropshire and Debra James live next door to the woods and said that they would not mind if a church was built at the end of the street. To them, it means the possible prevention of people dumping garbage and leaves into the woods.

The main concern for neighbors is the amount of traffic the street would get, especially considering the number of children who play outside there. Residents also said that the street is narrow, especially when cars are parked in the road, or after it snows. "The traffic is what's going to kill us," Goorahoo said.